Protective athletic equipment such as shoulder pads, rib protectors, and hip or thigh pads are commonly worn by participants in many types of sports for protection from shock resulting from forceful contact with the ground or another participant. In such sports as football, it is also common for the players to wear hard protective helmets which provide a rigid enclosure to protect the head. When two players collide, the impact from the helmet worn by one player against the body of the other imparts a significant and potentially damaging shock.
One conventional type of protective athletic equipment has relatively rigid shells designed to cover and protect specific areas of the body. The shells are connected by straps or lacings and may have an inner liner of soft padding material. The hard shells receive the impact of a hit and spread it over a large area to be absorbed and cushioned by the padding material.
It has been found, however, that this structure is not fully effective in cushioning the shock from the impact of a hard object such as a helmet. Firstly, the helmet hitting the rigid shells creates an instantaneous impulsive shock much more damaging than the average force calculable from the momentum of impact. Secondly, when the helmet is forcibly intruded between the shells, the shock is not cushioned at all. These sudden shocks create a significant risk of serious physical injury.
Furthermore, conventional shoulder pads have rested on and in contact with the player's shoulders, so that when the player is hit by an opponent or hits a dummy during practice the full shock of the impact is received on the shoulders. Even so-called "cantilever" pads include a weight bearing strap extending across the shoulder which cause the force of impact to be felt directly thereon. As is well known, the shoulder area is particularly prone to injury in the form of dislocation or bruising. Such injuries are not only painful, but are at least temporarily and possibly permanently disabling. Thus, conventional shoulder pads are insufficient to protect the vulnerable shoulder area.